Internal combustion engine with shrouded injection valve and precombustion chamber system
An engine is provided. In one embodiment, the engine includes a precombustion chamber having a body, a secondary combustion chamber disposed at least partially in the body, and a plurality of passages configured to place the precombustion chamber in fluid communication with a main combustion chamber.
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This application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/867,248, entitled “Internal Combustion Engine with Shrouded Injection Valve and PreCombustion Chamber System”, filed on Aug. 11, 2010, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, and which claims priority to and benefit of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2009/035771, entitled “Internal Combustion Engine with Shrouded Injection Valve and PreCombustion Chamber System,” filed Mar. 2, 2009, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, and which claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/036,059, entitled “Combustion Engine with Pre-Combustion Chamber”, filed on Mar. 12, 2008, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to internal combustion engines. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system consisting of a main chamber and a prechamber configuration for combustion engines.
BACKGROUNDThis section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Certain conventional engines may not meet recently-promulgated environmental regulations. Government agencies are enforcing increasingly stringent limits on engine emissions and efficiency. Starting in 2008, the United States Environmental Protection Agency will further restrict the levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and non-methane, non-ethane hydrocarbons (NMNEHC) that can be emitted by certain types of two-stroke combustion engines. Consequently, there is a market for two-stroke engines with lower emissions and higher efficiency than conventional designs.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present invention, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” “said,” and the like, are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. The use of “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below,” and variations of these terms is made for convenience, but does not require any particular orientation of the components.
In this embodiment, the engine 10 includes a cylinder 16, a head 18, and a piston assembly 20. The illustrated cylinder 16 is generally concentric about a central axis 22 and includes an inner sidewall 24, an outer sidewall 26, an exhaust outlet 28, and an air inlet 30. The inner sidewall 24 and the outer sidewall 26 are spaced away from each other and together define a cavity 32 for circulating coolant around the inner sidewall 24 and cooling the engine 10. Coolant may flow into or out of the cavity 32 through an aperture 34 in the outer sidewall 26. The cavity 32 may also include a plurality of apertures 36 that place the cavity 32 in fluid communication with portions of the head 18, as described below. The inner sidewall 24 is penetrated by a plurality of passages 38 that converge in the air inlet 30 and a plurality of passages 40 that converge in the exhaust outlet 28. The passages 40 may extend closer to the head 18 than the passages 38 to increase the portion of the piston's stroke during which exhaust gas may flow through the passages 40 relative to the portion of the piston's stroke during which air may flow in through the passages 38. During a down stroke, exhaust gas may first flow out through the passages 40 before air flows into the cylinder 16 through the passages 38 and purges the remaining exhaust. In some embodiments, the cylinder 16 has a bore (diameter) between 10 and 20 inches, e.g., between 14 and 18 inches.
The cylinder 16 couples to the head 18, which also has a shape that is generally concentric about the central axis 22. In this embodiment, the head 18 includes an inner wall 42, an outer wall 44, a cavity 46, a coolant inlet 48, a precombustion chamber aperture 50, a gas injection valve aperture 52, and bolts 54. One side of the inner wall 42 defines a generally dome-shaped portion of a main combustion chamber 56, and the space between the inner wall 42 and the outer wall 44 generally defines the cavity 46.
In this embodiment, the cavity 46 is in fluid communication with the coolant inlet 48 and with the coolant outlet 34 through both the apertures 36 and the cavity 32 in the cylinder 16. In some embodiments, the flow may be reversed and inlet 48 may be an outlet. The illustrated cavity 46 includes a plurality of passages 58 that extended to the precombustion chamber 12 for cooling the precombustion chamber 12. A portion of the cavity 46 also surrounds a part of the gas injection valve 14.
The illustrated precombustion chamber aperture 50 is generally centrally located at the top of the head 18 and is generally concentric about the central axis 22. As explained below, positioning the precombustion chamber 12 generally centrally above the main combustion chamber 56 is believed to contribute to a more even propagation of a flame throughout the main combustion chamber 56 and improve engine efficiency. In other embodiments, though, the precombustion chamber 12 and the precombustion chamber aperture 50 may be located elsewhere on the head 18 or the engine 10, e.g., to the side of the central axis 22 similar to the gas injection valve 14. The precombustion chamber aperture 50 extends between the main combustion chamber 56 and the exterior of the head 18, and it includes a shoulder 60 and a sidewall 62 that abut seals on the precombustion chamber 12, as described below. The shoulder 60 and the sidewall 62 may be generally concentric about the central axis 22.
The gas injection valve aperture 52 includes a lower aperture 64 and an upper aperture 66 that extend through the inner wall 42 and the outer wall 44, respectively. These apertures 64 and 66 may also be generally circular and generally concentric about a secondary axis 68. The secondary axis 68 may be at an angle 70 with respect to the central axis 22. In some embodiments, the angle 70 may be between 5 and 85 degrees, e.g., between 15 and 45 degrees. In other embodiments, the gas injection valve 14 and the gas injection valve aperture 52 may be generally centrally located along the central axis 22, and the precombustion chamber 12 may be shifted to the side.
The illustrated bolts 54 extend through the head 18 and thread to the cylinder 16, biasing the head 18 against the cylinder 16. A gasket 72 may be positioned between the head 18 and the cylinder 16, such that it is compressed by the bolts 54. In this embodiment, the head 18 and the cylinder 16 include overlapping flanges 74 and 76. The illustrated flange 74 includes a fillet 75 on the side facing the main combustion chamber 56.
The piston assembly 20 includes a piston 78 and a shaft 80. In some embodiments, the piston 78 includes a crown 79 with a generally dome-shaped portion 82 and a chamfered portion 84, an aperture 85, a plurality of seals 88, and a sleeve 90. The illustrated piston assembly 20 is generally concentric about the central axis 22. The dome-shaped portion 82 of the crown 79 generally defines a segment of a sphere, and the chamfer 84 generally defines a frustoconical volume. The piston 78 is illustrated at or near one end of its stroke, referred to as a bottom dead center. In this position, both the passages 38 and the passages 40 are in fluid communication with the main combustion chamber 56. The aperture 85 includes internal threads that are complementary to external threads on a distal portion 92 of the shaft 80. The illustrated piston assembly 20 includes three piston ring seals 88 that are disposed above the sleeve 90 and below the chamfer 84. Other embodiments may include more or fewer seals 88 or other types of seals. The sleeve 90 is a generally tubular member that is generally concentric about the central axis 22. The sleeve 90 extends a distance along the cylinder 16 such that the passages 38 and 40 are obstructed by the sleeve 90 when the piston assembly 20 is at the other end of its stroke referred to as top dead center, as illustrated by
In this embodiment, the upper cavity 120 is placed in fluid communication with a downstream side of the fuel valve 120 by the passage 122. The passage 122 may define a generally right circular-cylindrical volume that is angled with respect to the central axis 22. As explained below, the passage 122 may be generally tangential to the surface of the precombustion chamber 12 including the upper cavity 120, and this angular relationship may tend to enhance mixing of fuel and air within the precombustion chamber 12.
The illustrated lower body 96 includes a lower cavity 126, an upper shoulder 128, a flange 130, a chamfer 132, a lower shoulder 134, a passage 136 to the main combustion chamber 56, a sidewall 138, and a dome 140. The flange 130 and shoulder 128 are configured to abut and overlap both the flange 118 and the shoulder 116 of the upper body 94. In this embodiment, a weld 142 joins the chamfer 132 on the lower body 96 to the chamfer 114 on the upper body 94. The illustrated upper body 94 and lower body 96 are cast and then machined separately before being joined permanently by the weld 142. In other embodiments, these components 94 and 96 may be separable and joined with other features, e.g., a threaded connection or bolts. The lower shoulder 134 is generally perpendicular to the central axis 22 (
The passage 136, in this embodiment, includes a primary passage 144 and a plurality of secondary passages 146. One end of the primary passage 144 joins with the lower cavity 126, and the other end of the primary passage 144 joins with each of the plurality of secondary passages 146. The illustrated primary passage 144 is generally tangential to the surface of the lower cavity 126, forming an angle 152 that is described below.
The primary passage 144 may join the secondary passages 146 at an area that generally lies along the central axis 22, and the secondary passages 146 may be generally rotationally symmetric about the central axis 22. In this embodiment, the secondary passages 146 are at an angle 148 with respect to the central axis 22, which may be between 0 and 110 degrees, e.g., between 10 and 80 degrees. In other embodiments, the secondary passages 146 may extend in other directions, e.g., generally perpendicular to the central axis 22, radially outward. Both the primary passage 144 and the secondary passages 146 are generally straight, but in other embodiments, they may curve or bend. Both the primary passage 144 and the secondary passages 146 generally define right circular-cylindrical volumes, but in other embodiments, they may generally define other shapes, e.g., a non-right circular-cylindrical volume, an elliptical-cylindrical volume, or a rectangular cylindrical volume. Additional details of the secondary passages 146 are described below with reference to
The lower cavity 126 generally defines a hemispherical volume. In other embodiments, though, the lower cavity 126, like the upper cavity 120 may have other shapes. Together, the lower cavity 126 and the upper cavity 120 generally define a secondary combustion chamber 150 with a generally spherical shape.
As mentioned above, the passages 122 and 136 are generally tangent to the walls of the secondary combustion chamber 150 to establish a swirling flow within the secondary combustion chamber 150. In some embodiments, the primary passage 144 may approach the lower chamber 126 at an angle 152 that is greater than 115 degrees, e.g., an angle greater than or generally equal to 155 degrees. Similarly, the passage 122 may approach the walls of the secondary combustion chamber 150 at an angle 154 that is greater than 115 degrees, e.g., an angle greater than or generally equal to 155 degrees. As explained below, the angled passages 122 and 144 are believed to establish a swirling motion within the secondary combustion chamber 150 as fuel flows through the passage 122 and as air flows in through the passage 136.
In this embodiment, the passages 122 and 144 are generally coplanar, lying generally in the plane corresponding to the section of
The seal 98 is a generally annular member configured to seal the main combustion chamber 56 from the cavity 46 in the head 18. In this embodiment, the seal 98 is disposed around the walls 138 and against the shoulder 134.
The fuel valve 100 includes a fuel inlet 156 configured to connect to the precombustion chamber 12 to a fuel source. In this embodiment, the fuel valve 100 is a check valve that allows fuel to flow into the secondary combustion chamber 150 and impedes fluid from flowing the other way.
The gas injection valve 14 is illustrated by
Other features of the gas injection valve 14 are illustrated in greater detail by
In this embodiment, the valve member 168 is generally concentric about the axis 68. The valve member 168 day includes a broader right circular cylindrical portion 202 that seals against the bushing 182, a narrower generally right circular cylindrical portion 204, and a head 206. The illustrated head 206 includes a generally dome shaped downstream face 208, generally right circular cylindrical sidewalls 210 and a contact surface 212. The sidewalls 210 are inwardly spaced away from the edges of the nozzle 172 to define a generally annular volume through which fuel flows when the gas injection valve 14 is opened. The contact surface 212 defines a generally frustoconical volume and is generally complementary to the contact surface 200 on the seat 170.
The illustrated nozzle 172 is integrally formed with the body 162, but in other embodiments, the nozzle 172 may be a separate component that is coupled, e.g. threaded or welded, to the body 162. The presently described nozzle 172 overlaps the seat 170 and generally defines a right circular-cylindrical volume 214 that shapes the jet of fuel leaving the gas injection valve 14, as explained below with reference to
In some embodiments, the air-fuel mixture in the secondary combustion chamber 150 is richer than the air-fuel mixture in the main combustion chamber 56. For example, the fuel-air mixture in the secondary combustion chamber 150 may be between 10 to 1 (air to fuel by mass) and 20 to 1, e.g., between 14 to 1 and 17 to 1, and the fuel-air mixture in the main combustion chamber 56 may between 15 to 1 and 25 to 1, e.g., between 17 to 1 and 21 to 1.
At least two aspects of the illustrated precombustion chamber 12 are believed to contribute to more uniform combustion and more complete combustion within the main combustion chamber 56. Because the precombustion chamber 12 is generally centrally located along the central axis 22, the flame leaving the precombustion chamber 12 is disposed relatively close to substantially all of the volume of the main combustion chamber 56. As a result, in some embodiments, as the flame propagates from the precombustion chamber 12, the flame reaches substantially all of the main combustion chamber 56 within a relatively short period of time, before the flame cools. This is believed to produce more complete combustion and improve engine efficiency relative to some conventional designs. Additionally, the plurality of secondary passages 46 disperses the flame from the precombustion chamber 12 within the main combustion chamber 56. This dispersion is believed to produce a more uniform flame front as combustion propagates throughout the main combustion chamber 56. As a result, the flame does not cool substantially before reaching substantially all of the main combustion chamber 56, and substantially all of the air fuel mixture within the main combustion chamber 56 is ignited within a relatively short period of time. This also is believed to reduce emissions and increase efficiency of the engine 10.
In operation, natural gas flows from the gas well 234 to the compressor 236, as illustrated by arrow 240. A portion of this flow is diverted to the engine 10, as illustrated by arrow 242. The diverted flow 242 may be conditioned by removing moisture or changing the gas pressure before being introduced to the engine 10. A small portion of the diverted gas 242 flows into the precombustion chamber 12 and the rest of the diverted gas 242 flows into the cylinders of the engine 10. The engine 10 combusts the diverted fuel 242 by igniting the fuel in the precombustion chambers 12, as described above, and drives a shaft 244 or other mechanical or electrical linkage that powers the compressor 236. The compressor 236 compresses the flow 240 from the gas well 234 and produces an outlet flow 246 at a higher pressure.
While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and have been described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.
Claims
1. A system, comprising:
- an engine, comprising: a head having an inner wall with a first dome-shaped portion recessed into the head; a cylinder; a piston having a crown with a second dome-shaped portion recessed into the piston, wherein a first combustion chamber is disposed between the head and the piston, wherein the first and second dome-shaped portions are disposed axially opposite from one another, wherein the first dome-shaped portion has a first curvature that extends across at least half of a diameter of the cylinder and is symmetrical about a first central axis of the cylinder, wherein the second dome shaped portion has a second curvature that extends across at least half of the diameter of the cylinder and is symmetrical about the first central axis of the cylinder over a stroke of the piston, wherein the piston is configured to reciprocate along the first central axis of the cylinder; a fuel injector coupled to the first dome-shaped portion between the first central axis and one of radially opposite sides of the first combustion chamber, wherein the fuel injector is acutely angled relative to the first central axis of the cylinder, wherein the fuel injector is separate from an air inlet and is configured to inject fuel toward the second dome-shaped portion of the piston; and a second combustion chamber comprising a body having an interior volume and an outlet passage fluidly coupling the interior volume with the first combustion chamber, wherein the body of the second combustion chamber is centered relative to the first central axis of the cylinder, and the fuel injector is coupled to the first dome-shaped portion at an intermediate position between the first central axis and one of radially opposite sides of the first combustion chamber; wherein an inner wall of the body curves around an entirety of the interior volume.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the fuel injector is angled between 15 to 45 degrees relative to the first central axis of the cylinder.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the outlet passage comprises a first outlet passage that intersects with and is angled greater than or equal to 155 degrees relative to a curved portion of the second combustion chamber.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the fuel injector is configured to direct the fuel toward a center of the second dome-shaped portion of the piston at a top dead center of the piston in the cylinder.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the outlet passage comprises a plurality of diverging outlet passages that are acutely angled relative to the first central axis of the cylinder and a second central axis of the second combustion chamber, and the plurality of diverging outlet passages are configured to direct flames and hot gases in different directions toward the second dome-shaped portion of the piston.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the second combustion chamber comprises an ignition device centered relative to a second central axis of the second combustion chamber.
7. The system of claim 1, comprising a compressor coupled to the engine.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein fuel injector comprises a valve body having an outlet nozzle and a valve member having a valve head configured to move between an open position and a closed position, and the valve head is recessed into the outlet nozzle in both the open position and the closed position.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the outlet nozzle comprises a cylindrical volume.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein the fuel injector comprises an upstream nozzle disposed along a fuel passage leading to the outlet nozzle, wherein the upstream nozzle comprises a frustoconical volume.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the first dome-shaped portion has a first curved surface that curves inwardly toward the first central axis from the radially opposite sides of the first combustion chamber, and the second dome-shaped portion has a second curved surface that curves inwardly toward the first central axis from the radially opposite sides of the first combustion chamber.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first and second curved surfaces curve away from one another from the radially opposite sides to the first central axis.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein a first maximum depth of the first dome-shaped portion is greater than a second maximum depth of the second dome-shaped portion.
14. A system, comprising:
- an engine, comprising: a head having an inner wall; a cylinder; a piston having a crown, wherein a first combustion chamber is disposed between the head and the piston, wherein the inner wall and the crown are disposed axially opposite from one another, wherein the piston is configured to reciprocate along a first central axis of the cylinder; a second combustion chamber comprising a body coupled to the head, wherein the body has an interior volume, a fuel inlet passage fluidly coupled with the interior volume, and an outlet passage fluidly coupling the interior volume with the first combustion chamber, both the fuel inlet passage and the outlet passage being nonparallel with the first central axis, wherein the second combustion chamber is substantially centered relative to the first central axis of the cylinder, wherein the fuel inlet passage extends to, and is angled greater than or equal to 155 degrees relative to, a first curved portion of the second combustion chamber, wherein the outlet passage comprises a first outlet passage that extends to, and is angled greater than or equal to 155 degrees relative to, a second curved portion of the second combustion chamber; and a fuel injector coupled to the head and separate from an air inlet, wherein the fuel injector is disposed at an intermediate position between the first central axis and one of radially opposite sides of the first combustion chamber, wherein the fuel injector is acutely angled relative to the first central axis of the cylinder, wherein the fuel injector is configured to inject fuel across the first combustion chamber crosswise to a flame and hot gas output by the outlet passage of the second combustion chamber.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the inner wall of the head comprises a first dome-shaped portion recessed into the head, wherein the outlet passage of the second combustion chamber comprises one or more outlets disposed along the first dome-shaped portion of the head, wherein an outlet nozzle of the fuel injector is disposed along the first dome-shaped portion of the head.
16. The system of claim 14, wherein the inner wall of the head comprises a first dome-shaped portion recessed into the head, wherein the crown of the piston comprises a second dome-shaped portion recessed into the piston, wherein the first and second dome-shaped portions are disposed axially opposite from one another, wherein the first and second dome-shaped portions are centered and symmetrical relative to the first central axis of the cylinder over a stroke of the piston in the cylinder, wherein the first and second dome-shaped portions extend across at least half of a diameter of the cylinder.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first dome-shaped portion has a first curvature that extends across at least half of the diameter of the cylinder and is symmetrical about the first central axis of the cylinder, wherein the second dome-shaped portion has a second curvature that extends across at least half of the diameter of the cylinder and is symmetrical about the first central axis of the cylinder.
18. A system comprising:
- an engine, comprising: a head having an inner wall with a first dome-shaped portion recessed into the head; a cylinder; a piston having a crown with a second dome-shaped portion recessed into the piston, wherein a first combustion chamber is disposed between the head and the piston, wherein the first and second dome-shaped portions are disposed axially opposite from one another, wherein the first dome-shaped portion has a first curvature that extends across at least half of a diameter of the cylinder and is symmetrical about a first central axis of the cylinder, wherein the second dome shaped portion has a second curvature that extends across at least half of the diameter of the cylinder and is symmetrical about the first central axis of the cylinder over a stroke of the piston, wherein the piston is configured to reciprocate along the first central axis of the cylinder; and a fuel injector coupled to the first dome-shaped portion between the first central axis and one of radially opposite sides of the first combustion chamber, wherein the fuel injector is acutely angled relative to the first central axis of the cylinder, wherein the fuel injector is separate from an air inlet and is configured to inject fuel toward the second dome-shaped portion of the piston; wherein the fuel injector comprises a valve body having an outlet nozzle and a valve member having a valve head configured to move between an open position and a closed position, and the valve head is recessed into the outlet nozzle in both the open position and the closed position; and wherein the fuel injector comprises first and second annular seals disposed in respective first and second annular grooves about the valve body, the first and second annular seals being offset from one another about a cooling region disposed in a coolant path through the head of the engine.
19. A system comprising:
- an engine, comprising: a head having an inner wall with a first dome-shaped portion recessed into the head; a cylinder; a piston having a crown with a second dome-shaped portion recessed into the piston, wherein a first combustion chamber is disposed between the head and the piston, wherein the first and second dome-shaped portions are disposed axially opposite from one another, wherein the first dome-shaped portion has a first curvature that extends across at least half of a diameter of the cylinder and is symmetrical about a first central axis of the cylinder, wherein the second dome shaped portion has a second curvature that extends across at least half of the diameter of the cylinder and is symmetrical about the first central axis of the cylinder over a stroke of the piston, wherein the piston is configured to reciprocate along the first central axis of the cylinder; a fuel injector coupled to the first dome-shaped portion between the first central axis and one of radially opposite sides of the first combustion chamber, wherein the fuel injector is acutely angled relative to the first central axis of the cylinder, wherein the fuel injector is separate from an air inlet and is configured to inject fuel toward the second dome-shaped portion of the piston; and a second combustion chamber comprising a body having an interior volume and an outlet passage fluidly coupling the interior volume with the first combustion chamber, wherein the body of the second combustion chamber is centered relative to the first central axis of the cylinder, and the fuel injector is coupled to the first dome-shaped portion at an intermediate position between the first central axis and one of radially opposite sides of the first combustion chamber; wherein the second combustion chamber comprises a fuel inlet passage fluidly coupled with the interior volume, the fuel inlet passage is separate from the outlet passage, and the fuel inlet passage and the outlet passage are angled to induce swirl in a common rotational direction within the second combustion chamber.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Aug 24, 2013
Date of Patent: Aug 29, 2017
Patent Publication Number: 20140060478
Assignee: GE Oil & Gas Compression Systems, LLC (Houston, TX)
Inventors: Gene McClendon (Nichols Hills, OK), Randall A. Coleman (Oklahoma City, OK)
Primary Examiner: Hai Huynh
Assistant Examiner: Gonzalo Laguarda
Application Number: 13/975,325
International Classification: F02B 19/00 (20060101); F02B 19/08 (20060101); F02B 19/10 (20060101); F02B 19/12 (20060101); F02B 19/18 (20060101); F02B 25/14 (20060101); F02B 75/02 (20060101);